Latest news on the insurance Italian sector - Amendemnts to Ivass Regulation 40/2018

IVASS Order No. 128 of 20 February 2023, has amended IVASS Regulation No. 40 of 2018 on insurance distribution.

The amendments concern two main aspects:

• The professional requirements of intermediaries – in line with the current school system, the reference to the “five-year duration of studies and the supplementary year” has been removed. This makes the regulation consistent with the current legal framework by providing the obligation to “hold a qualification of not less than upper secondary education or a corresponding foreign qualification” (amendments to Articles 17, 22, 26, 41, 48, 84 of IVASS Regulation no. 40/2018).
• The obligation for intermediaries to notify IVASS of the internet domain and sub-domain (if any) used to carry out distance selling of insurance contracts (ie through distance communication techniques), within 30 days from the registration of the domain (amendments to Articles 5,6, 22, 38, 78). Specifically, intermediaries have to comply with this obligation within 90 days of IVASS's publication of technical instructions.

This last change is particularly relevant as it provides a new disclosure obligation on intermediaries introduced by IVASS to reduce the number of irregular websites.

IVASS might also, in the future, publish a “whitelist” on its website to increase the level of reliance of intermediaries and ensure greater consumer protection.